and enmity for His sake, and the like—he remains mindful of the distinction between the Creator and creation, distinguishing one from the other. He perceives the diversity and multiplicity of created things while also perceiving that Allah is the Lord, Sovereign, and Creator of everything, and that He is Allah: there is no god worthy of worship except Him. This is sound and upright perception. This is required in the heart’s knowledge, perception, remembrance, and recognition, as well as in its state, worship, purpose, will, love, loyalty, and obedience.
This is the realization of “the testimony that there is no god worthy of worship except Allah.” He denies in his heart the divinity of anything other than the Truth and affirms in his heart the divinity of the Truth. Thus, he denies the divinity of every created thing and affirms the divinity of the Lord of all worlds, the Lord of the earth and the heavens. This entails the heart’s complete devotion to Allah and its turning away from everything besides Him. He therefore distinguishes between the Creator and creation in his knowledge and purpose, his perception and will, and his recognition and love. He knows Allah Most High, remembers Him, and recognizes Him, while also knowing that He is distinct from His creation, separate from them, and uniquely One.
He loves Allah, venerates Him, worships Him, places his hope in Him, fears Him, maintains loyalty and enmity for His sake, seeks His help, and places his trust in Him. He refrains from worshipping any other, placing his trust in any other, seeking help from any other, fearing any other, placing his hope in any other, maintaining loyalty or enmity for the sake of any other, or obeying the commands of any other, and from directing to any other such acts as belong exclusively to the divinity of Allah, glorified and exalted be He.
His acknowledgment of the divinity of Allah Most High alone, to the exclusion of all others, entails his acknowledgment of His lordship: that He is the Lord, Sovereign, Creator, and Disposer of everything. Only then does he truly affirm Allah’s oneness.
This is further clarified by the fact that the best remembrance is “There is no god worthy of worship except Allah,” as narrated by al-Tirmidhī and Ibn Abī